Our yard is so pretty 3 seasons of the year with the leaves filled in, but in the winter you can see buildings that aren’t so pretty. BUT if you look beyond – mountains!!

We were blessed with not one but TWO swing naps today. Maybe someone likes his swing now? Hope so. Although I also hope he doesn’t get addicted to rocking naps… For now we’ll take sleep. We have such a sleep fighter that I am amazed (A. Maze-d) every time he closes his eyes.

We did all kinds of household chores this morning while M napped. Matt went out running a few errands and I made lunch at 1.

Plus apples slices and carrot sticks, conveniently served in a Nutty Butter jar with just the edges left.

This afternoon we went a’walking with Rosie and Kevin and baby Linden on the Monticello Trail. We did the usual 2 miles up, 2 miles down while the babies floated about.

Post-hike snack of sweet potatoes (warm) and cranberry sauce (cold)

I fed Maze and then scooted off to Whole Foods for our weekly groceries while the boys played tummy time games.

Upon my return, we worked on a quiche for dinner!

With Matt’s new crust skills, we decided to amp up our usual frittatas with some buttery, golden crust. {Really I was just craving one final Thanksgiving pie…}

From Crusty McCrusterson:

The crust was a classic pie crust, just any basic one will do (like this one!). If you do a youtube search for “how to flute a pie crust” there are several videos that teach you how to make the edges look nice. My advice having done so many pies at the bakery last week: You don’t have to worry over having the rolled out crust be perfectly circular. Roll it larger than the pie pan, lay it in, and then fold under the edges so that you have a big tube of dough sitting on the outer edge. Then begin fluting. If you look at the picture above, you can see that I didn’t get it perfectly even, but the fact is nobody notices or minds!

About half the quiche recipes out there tell you to prebake the crust, and we weren’t planning on it, but then 1) our crust was a little thicker than normal, 2) we had some extra time while the veggies cooked, and 3) I was worried that with the ceramic pie dish there might be problems with taking longer to bake. So we prebaked it after all, for 8 minutes at 350*. No pie beans or marbles, just popped it in after docking the dough. It wasn’t very set after 8 but we felt it was enough of a head start.

Inside the crust dough we put cooked mushrooms (1 cup), peppers (1/3 cup) and greens (1 cup), and then some sliced brie cheese! The veggies got salted during their sauté. Then we poured in a beaten mixture of 5 eggs and 3/4 cup milk (2%) and put it in the oven.

45 minutes (at 350*) later…

Baby got back. Obviously the crust was the best part!

We served the quiche with a simple greens salad dressed in a vinaigrette of equal parts apple cider vinegar, honey and olive oil with a pinch of salt.

I went back for another sliver of quiche.

And now….this is happening. We decided because we have a tiny elf and are spending Christmas away from home that we weren’t going to do a big tree this year. When I saw these tabletop guys, I knew it was the perfect compromise. May the decorating begin!

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Now that’s my kind of pie! I’d take quiche over pecan pie any day. I’m one of those weird-os that doesn’t really like tradition Thanksgiving food. This year’s vegan spread made this non-vegan happier than the traditional stuff. 🙂

I definately want to buy that Nutty Butter! Looks great. I cant wait to see the Dec flavors! Also I tried your pumpkin oatmeal recipe! It was great. And quiche is one of my favorite dishes so this blog is on the top of my list! Thanks!

The quiche looks great! I’m surprised, I always thought that you needed to blind bake it 100% (learned that in school, at least), otherwise the bottom does not cook completely through and ends up gummy. And then cook the custard at a very low temp.

Our daughter turns 1 on Friday, and I was convinced that my little no napper would grow into a bad napping habits napper because the only naps she took were on our chests or in the moby wrap or stroller. We’d get 20 minute cat naps in the crib that ended abruptly with screams. Now, she easily goes down for 2 naps a day, each one around an hour to an hour and 1/2. I don’t know enough about being a mom to offer much parenting advice, but obviously those blissful naps on our chests were good for everyone and haven’t affected her ability to fall asleep on her own. So… if Mazen naps well in the swing, good for you!

Agreed – our daughter is just about 6 months and almost done with the swing (my they grow up fast!). She snoozed in there great for naps most days, and slept like a baby in her crib at night. I don’t think we’ll miss the swing much at all when we put it away next month. I love that your swing has the “friends” that move, ours is right above and she reaches, swats and grabs them. So much so, that we can’t make them move anymore because it makes a horrible sound when she stops the motion! Who knew she would be so tall that she could do that! Keep the swing naps going, don’t worry about it being a bad habit (I worried too, esp. with using the ones at daycare too). He’ll adjust accordingly!

So many yummy eats! I’m going to plan on a similar breakfast tomorrow… Love cranberry sauce! Do you have a specific recipe you use?

I love your mini Christmas tree idea. I went back and forth about whether we’d put up a tree or not because we’ll also be away for the week of Christmas, and it’s so much work to put the thing up! We ended up putting it up, but the mini tree idea is something to keep in mind for the future when traveling over Christmas!

I’m a mean mom & turn off Jackson’s swing while he’s sleeping because I was also afraid that he would then neeeeed it…… On the topic of sleep- I found that if I nurse him in the dark when I want him to go to bed- he’ll fall asleep for the night. The darkness made a HUGE difference ( I also had him swaddled when I was nursing him)

I love your take on Christmas decorations this year! We decided to opt out of the live tree this year but cracked down and got an artificial. As much as I love the holiday cheer, sometimes, the minimalist approach is best. Less stress in my case. 🙂

I have one last slice of pumpkin pie calling my name and it’s begging for a dollop of cranberry sauce too! Perfect combination! Sounds like a great day Kath. The quiche looks perfectly delicious too! I hope you have a great week!

Ahhh, the swing. Loved it but then absolutely hated it for at least a good month when they became too big. My twins were addicted to it. They’d sleep in their beds at night with no problmes but nap time didn’t happen unless they were swingin’. But any sleep is better than no sleep!

I’ve got one piece of pie left waiting for me at home. Mmmmm…can’t wait!

I wish we had leftover cranberry sauce because that looks so good sitting on top of those oats!
My first fought sleep too and my second begs me for sleep! One of her first words was nite nite at like 9 months. So maybe #2 will make up for it 🙂

That oatmeal looks delicious. I love cranberry sauce. I plan on buying a bunch of cranberries before the season is over, make up a bunch of sauce, and freeze it to last me the rest of the winter. You can only get cranberries in the stores for a couple of months here.

Ahhhh, swing naps– those were the days! Lila used to sleep for HOURS in her swing, but I do think she got kind of “addicted” to it. We broke her of it just last month, and it feels good to know that she isn’t totally dependent on it anymore.

Holy guacamole! Cranberry sauce on top of oats is SUCH a great idea. For this thanksgiving I made your cranberry sauce recipe and fell in love with it! I’m not a fan of super sweet cranberry sauce so I loved how your sauce had just the right balance of tart vs. sweet. Also love the occasional pop from the whole cranberry! This is definitely a new family favorite! Thanks so much, you are such an inspiration to me!

Oh, such a cute little tree. I DEFINITELY understand not having a big tree since we have an 11 week old! However, we also have a 2 year old who is now very excited for Christmas and LOVES the big tree we just put up. So, you may have to go back to the big trees when Maze is a few years older!

cutest little tree ever! i have the same, petite, artificial christmas tree that i put up JUST in my room every year and i absolutely love it. there is something so cozy about a small christmas tree! 🙂

I will preface this criticism by saying I love this blog, and read it every day! Please oh please, fix the first sentence of this post “It’s very sad when a holidays is over, but playing at home on a ordinary Sunday is fun too.” It is very sad when A HOLIDAYS is over? And playing on A ORDINARY Sunday is fun? Sorry, lack of proofreading drives me nuts! Thanks for all of your hard work, I really do appreciate your blogs (baby and food)! 🙂